Williamsburg

Surf Bar
I almost forgot I was in Brooklyn after visiting this surf bar which reminded me of a spot you'd find in Hawaii or another exotic location. Sand covers the floor of this cozy, laid-back establishment as surf boards line the ceiling. Music from artist like Bob Marley came through the speakers adding to the relaxing vibe.

We walked right to the back patio, but unfortunately it was packed. After standing around, looking lost, we wandered back inside to sit at the tables that aligned the wall. In all this time, we were not greeted by anyone. We couldn't even find anyone that worked there.

We sat down at the tables as far away from the noisy fan as possible while we waited for a server. We waited a few minutes before we asked the bartender if there was someone to take our order. Shortly after, a shaggy surfer-looking dude came up to us and gave us menus.

We all ordered tropical drinks as the weather was scorching. As I usually do, I asked the server what the house specialty was. He brought me a frozen mojito which was really good. I never get mojitos because I'm not a fan of the muddled mint which usually gets trapped in the straw. This pale green, frozen mojito didn't have mint pieces floating around which was a relief. I think they did a good job in balancing the alcohol, mint, and sugar which is pretty much the essence of the mojito. It was served in a tropical looking glass that was pretty big.

We opted not to get food for a few reasons. We were joking how our server was probably the cook and we didn't want to give him extra work. The menu itself also looked alittle scattered. We also wanted to explore Williamsburg as it is said to have an up-and-coming culinary scene.

Although Surf Bar had a good vibe going, I don't see myself going back. I am still finding sand in my sneakers and there are other places to explore. It was a nice escape from the city and that I do applaud.



Fatty Cue (Brooklyn, NY)
After experimenting with surf bar, I dragged the crew to Fatty Cue after reading a great review from the NY Times. Fatty Cue is is Zakary Pelaccio's funky new BBQ restaurant in Williamsburg which marries traditonal BBQ with a Malayian twist. To be totally honest, the food was good;but didn't live up to the hype I gave it. While the food won't bring me back to Williamsburg, the experience will.

We sat on the top floor which only had two tables. I enjoyed sitting up here as we were able to view the whole restaurant on our way up. We not only got to check out the decor of this three story restaurant,but we got to scope out what people were eating.

Our server seemed bossy, but in a good way. She told us "newbies" how the kitchen operates and how all plates are meant to share. I know we ordered a bunch of stuff, but the only things that are worth mentioning are the coriander bacon,cucumber salad, and the whole pig. The whole pig was a special that they do once a week so we felt obligated to get that.

The portion sizes were kind of small,but that might just be me being a fatass. Everything that we had was good and had good flavor--but I just didn't LOVE it.

On our way out, we got to meet the Pittmaster, Robbie Richter. We later found out that Robbie was the pittmaster who helped start Hill Country. Our conversation with Robbie started after he thought we were going to steal his BBQ spare ribs that were resting on the rack outside the smoker. After Courtney, gregs girlfriend, told Robbie she didn'tsee them on the menu, he immediately told us to sit down and got us a plate. We sat in the alley where there were three tables or so. We sat down with Robbie and bullshitted food for an hour or so whilewe enjoyed his nicely BBQ spare ribs. I remember him saying how the ribs were made with palm syrup and smokey fish sauce. I really enjoyed his story as well as the conversation with the rest of the table. We also enjoyed a few of their drink specials like their "recession special" which gives you a shot of whiskey,a spicy pickle back, and a tallboy PBR.